The order sparked much discussion in the conservative blogosphere and sent a great deal of e-mail our way. Despite what some have been saying, however, the order doesn’t mean that a global police force can now operate unfettered on U.S. soil.

Nor is it true that "Interpol will now have the right of search and seizure on our shores without due process or any subpoenas," as the question above states. That’s a mangled interpretation of one of the impacts of the order, which is to make Interpol’s own property and records immune from search and seizure, just like those of many other international groups operating in the U.S.

Obama’s action also doesn’t "alter our legal protections," as another message queried. And it doesn’t bring the U.S. any closer to "allow[ing] foreign countries to try Americans, at the Hague, for any ‘crimes’ not recognized as such by the U.S. that were ‘committed’ without the person having left the U.S.," as another e-mail we received said.

Bringing Interpol fully under the International Organizations Immunities Act is a process that was started by President Reagan in 1983. With Executive Order 12425, Reagan declared that Interpol was covered by the act and all of its provisions except a few that had to do with exemptions from paying U.S. income, Social Security and property taxes, and several other issues.

President Clinton in 1995 took things a step further, ordering that Interpol be granted exemptions under the act for purposes of customs duties and importation restrictions. Now, with Obama’s order, the law enforcement group is fully normalized under the law, just like the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Inter-American Development Bank, the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission and nearly 100 other organizations. For a full list, see below:

[EET ] International organizations designated by executive order as public international organizations entitled to enjoy the privileges, exemptions, and immunities conferred by the International Organizations Immunities Act, with executive order number, date issued, and volume and page of Federal Register publication:

Why did it take so long for Interpol to be fully covered? According to LaTonya Miller, a spokeswoman for the U.S. National Central Bureau of Interpol, which is located within the Department of Justice, Interpol didn’t have an office in the U.S. until 2004, when it opened one in New York. The privileges Interpol hadn’t been granted — exemption from taxes, etc. — weren’t needed. Its updated status under the law has been in the works since the New York office opened.

It’s likely that some of the hubbub springs from a fundamental misunderstanding about what Interpol does. Interpol is indeed a police organization, with 188 member countries. According to its Web site, it "aims to facilitate international police co-operation even where diplomatic relations do not exist between particular countries." Its priority areas include the drug trade, global crime syndicates, fugitives, financial and high-tech crimes.

But – take note, aspiring James Bonds – it doesn’t send agents out to do their own investigations and make arrests; it’s more of a facilitator. And its site also maintains that "[a]ction is taken within the limits of existing laws in different countries."